body sense

Recent studies suggest an entirely new way to avoid obesity: sleep six hours or more...and fidget all day! The most recent report, published in Science, tracked the most miniscule movements — wriggling, tapping toes, scratching — of people of various weights but all on exactly the same diet. Researchers had the subjects wear special underwear to record the tiniest muscle twitches. Those twitches added up: the thin people burned 350 more calories than the overweight people, who tended to sit still an average of 150 minutes more. And earlier, in studies published in Annals of Internal Medicine and elsewhere, scientists found that there’s a strong link between obesity and shorter sleeping duration. It turns out that people who sleep more tend not to be obese. While one can never leap to conclusions on causality, it might not hurt to sleep in and wiggle your way through the workday!

Find out how to “eat slow” in New York City and Chicago with The Slow Food Guide (an edition for San Fransisco will be available soon). The Slow Food movement, founded in Italy in 1986, fights the culturally harmful effects of fast food and has now become increasingly popular in the U.S. Discover how to eat well and embrace local taste while promoting biodiversity, conviviality, and the preservation of traditional food cultures. Visit their website to “slow” down and to learn more about these books, unique cuisines, and many other matters of taste.

According to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, an estimated 5,000 women die every year in Latin America as a result of illegal abortions. A further 800,000 are hospitalized due to complications, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. In many Latin countries, machismo dictates that a man must have as many children as possible in order to affirm his value and virility, pressuring his wife or girlfriend into having sex without contraception. Ironically, the abortion rate in Latin American nations is often higher than in countries that allow choice. In Chile, where a woman can serve up to five years for having the procedure, almost 5% of women have an induced abortion, while in the U.S. the rate is just 2%.

J-Lo’s curves may represent the most enviable body shape in the United States. But it’s a different story in Argentina, where one in 10 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 suffers from an eating disorder — compared with one to five of every 100 teenagers in the United States — according to a recent report by the Argentine Association to Fight Bulimia and Anorexia (ALUBA). Treatment for four- and five-year-olds tripled in 2004, according to ALUBA staff, adding that parents have sought help for girls already purging themselves by the age of three.

You know those icons on food packaging that you don't pay much attention to? Well here's one you should be careful to look out for. Since 1995, hundreds of products have carried the American Heart Association’s Food Certification Program heart-check mark! This mark indicates that the product contains lower carbohydrates and no trans fats or heart-damaging substances. To learn more about this ongoing effort to help consumers make heart-conscious food selections, go to their website.